Customer reviews from Samsung US
Samsung - Captivate Mobile Phone - Black (AT&T)
Average customer rating
4.2
(1,846 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 1,846 reviews
5 Stars
949
4 Stars
544
3 Stars
150
2 Stars
109
1 Star
94
82%of customers recommend this product.
(
1,418 out of
1,721)
Customer Reviews for Samsung - Captivate Mobile Phone - Black (AT&T)
Customer Rating
4
Good phone; Great if in contract with carrier
on October 10, 2010
Posted by: bluathena
from Lexington, KY
Expertise:Intermediate
Coming from an older OS, this phone offers more than one person really needs. Lacking in a few features that I enjoyed on previous phone for 3 years, but definitely makes up for that in other areas.
Coming from a PDA style, I do miss the more detailed calendar that was able to sync with my calendar on my computer. With upgrade on phone and computer, that makes that feature null and void, and I will have to find another way to function. I have time for that though.
The other features I do miss is the sliding keyboard and the touch screen that was stylus friendly. Being a woman with fingernails having to use the full pad of my fingers makes for more mistakes. If I am really in the mood for less mistakes, I do cut my nails off to utilize the tips of my fingers.
I also was a bit upset that a phone made by Samsung would not have a place for a cellphone strap or charm. I did have to get a bit creative on being able to use my cellphone charm. However those are minor, and with the future will come better phones, right?
This phone offers the fastest loading I have seen in any phone. Camera has great features. I no longer pull out my point and shoot, nor my DSLR for those quick moment shots I do not want to miss. With the ability to upload directly to social websites who needs to transfer the pictures to the computer to upload? The ease of being able to load my music on to the phone and use as an MP3 player, great. GPS works with some (hilarous) flaws, that seems to be corrected now. I only experienced problems in areas where roads overlapped or ran parallel to each other with in a matter of 50 to 100 feet. My location would look as if it was game of frogger.
Call quality is great, even with hands free devices. I have had no experience with dropped calls or any other problems. Phone features and contacts are easy to use. The phone senses movement and will light up screen when you pull it away from your ear. Very nice feature.
I did buy video cables to check out the ability to play on the television. Obviously not HD, but with a good signal, the quality is there. I would recommend using WiFi and not OTA if watching a television show on, well, a television.
I am absolutely amazed by the Android OS though. The amount of internal memory was more than enough. The 1GHz processor is very noticeable. The screen is large enough to enjoy games, movies, tv shows, what ever you would like to entertain you. The home screen(s) are customizable which is always a plus in my book.
Wish list features for the phone: front facing video camera, sliding keyboard and/or stylus friendly touch screen, and flash for the camera.
Pros: Bright display, Durable, Realistic color, Lightweight
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
4
Design
4
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
3
Everything Seems to be working except for GPS
on November 29, 2010
Posted by: Gormander
from California
Expertise:Expert
Overall this is a good phone but it does not do anything more "spectacular" than other android phones I have used. The only thing that I find "AMAZING" about this phone is the screen...but when under the sun, that screen becomes hard to see. The responsiveness of the phone is good but has the occasional "lag" at times.
GPS is highly inaccurate when MOVING...standing still, it can get a lock within minutes (horrible compared to other phones I have used). It has come to the point where the GPS is so inaccurate when MOVING, that I cannot rely on it. MOVING is the key word...just because it can get a lock while standing still, doesnt mean it will stay "locked" when moving.
Battery life is pretty horrid as well. I will lose approximately 5% of battery life in standby mode (screen off, etc) in 30 minutes. Using the phone drains the battery even faster. I unplug the phone at 8am, by 3pm, I am usually down to 20%. My other smart phone would last me the full day, if not more, with the same amount of usage.
TV-Out is an awesome feature but don't expect too much in terms of quality since it uses the 3.5 mm jack for video and audio.
GPS is highly inaccurate when MOVING...standing still, it can get a lock within minutes (horrible compared to other phones I have used). It has come to the point where the GPS is so inaccurate when MOVING, that I cannot rely on it. MOVING is the key word...just because it can get a lock while standing still, doesnt mean it will stay "locked" when moving.
Battery life is pretty horrid as well. I will lose approximately 5% of battery life in standby mode (screen off, etc) in 30 minutes. Using the phone drains the battery even faster. I unplug the phone at 8am, by 3pm, I am usually down to 20%. My other smart phone would last me the full day, if not more, with the same amount of usage.
TV-Out is an awesome feature but don't expect too much in terms of quality since it uses the 3.5 mm jack for video and audio.
My main issue is the GPS. I cannot rely on this at all for navigation unlike my girlfriends smart phone...not samsung. Would not recommend this to my friends cause many of them use it for GPS.....unfortunately, when I am with them, we use their phone for it...not my "today's top of the line" phone.
Pros: Bright display, Lightweight
Cons: Not high def, Did not meet expectations, gps not working well, battery life is pretty bad
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
3
Performance
4
Design
3
Value
2
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
2
on December 5, 2010
Posted by: purerustic
This phone started shutting itself off after owning it for about one month. It turns itself off continuously. It seems like every time I check my phone it is off then i have to wait for it to reboot after pushing the on button. Can't rely on the alarm clock because 9 out of 10 times it will be off and wont ring. I miss calls all the time. You can't see the display screen when outside in bright sunlight plus I almost have to charge it on a daily basis and a rarely use the phone. I hate this phone.
Pros: nice bright screen when indoors.
Cons: Too big, Did not meet expectations
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
4
Performance
2
Design
4
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
1
Could be nice if....
on December 8, 2010
Posted by: greenlee
from Frisco, tx
Expertise:Intermediate
This is a really nice platform with lots of potential the only thing holding it back is touch wiz and slow android updates.
I got tired of waiting for Froyo and since Gingerbread is out any day now I’m giving up and switching phones. Went to EVO and sprint.
Absolutely could not stand touch wiz thankfully this phone is easy to root.
BTW the ATT apps are horrible and redundant and not removable by default.
I got tired of waiting for Froyo and since Gingerbread is out any day now I’m giving up and switching phones. Went to EVO and sprint.
Absolutely could not stand touch wiz thankfully this phone is easy to root.
BTW the ATT apps are horrible and redundant and not removable by default.
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Realistic color, Lightweight
Cons: Did not meet expectations, touchwiz is not removable, att apps not removable, slow android updates
Features
2
Performance
3
Design
3
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Great screen, great functionality
on July 18, 2010
Posted by: okmft
from Fort Smith AR
Expertise:Expert
Screen is absolutely stunning, and the device is just the right size (big screen, but not too big!). The device itself feels sturdy and looks good. I am happy with it overall, and would recommend it to others.
Problems syncing with MS Vista (looped into MTP mode when connected to PC), and even when trying to use any non-Samsung USB connection to charge it - it flips into mass storage mode, and can't access the SD card anymore until I turn it on and off again. Totally frustrating. Also, the buttons at the bottom can't be seen unless I am trying to press them...so it is a guessing game.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
4
Design
4
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
3
Focusing on flaws since others already talk about the good stuff...
on September 20, 2010
Posted by: SadCappyOwner
Expertise:Intermediate
Major flaws: The GPS does NOT work at all, no front facing camera or flash. Those are fast (others have the details). But, no one else goes in detail of some other issues (maybe because lack of testing??). First, Samsung really needs to improve the email and gmail apps. It is very frustrating that I CAN NOT SEND ANY EMAILS from my phone. They just sit in the outbox and never send... this should not happen with a top-of-the-line smartphone. Also, there is terrible LAG throughout the phone. Despite the fast processor, there are times when this phone is slower than my old iPhone 3G, which is really a shame and an embarrassment for samsung. I learned that advanced task killer slowed down this phone actually, but after uninstalling that app there was still lag (but terrrribble with the app). Also, the calendar app needs some improvements, such as the ability to select a default calendar. In addition, I often find that when I press the menu key in an app, such as maps, the captivate gets stuck and repeatedly vibrates without the screen changing at all. This is also not acceptable considering the tech specs of the phone...
And so, I hope I let you see some of the problems that others did not mention. I thought it would be nice to get some insight before buying, so I hoped to do that for you readers. But, on the bright side, a few of these issues are supposed to be fixed when they give us froyo (which better happen in September or we will be VERY unhappy), but I'd wait to buy until they release froyo and the fixes so you can be sure. And in the future, I they also must give us Gingerbread (in a timely manner) if they wish to be a true competitor with the iPhone.
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, Lightweight
Cons: Did not meet expectations, software needs some major help
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
4
Performance
3
Design
4
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Simply Swanktacular!
on September 24, 2010
Posted by: BananaPhoneDave
from Fort Smith, AR
Expertise:Intermediate
The Samsung Captivate is by far the best phone I have ever owned. I have owned and/or used phones from several different manufacturers and nothing else comes close. One of my favorite things about the Captivate is the Swype texting. Once you get the hang of it, it is very, very fast and easy. After using Swype, I will never go back to a "regular" keyboard, virtual or not. The overall sound quality is excellent. In-call sound quality is very good, especially if you have the noise suppression turned on. Music is reasonably loud, unless you're in a place where there is a lot of ambient noise, such as a crowded bar or sports venue. The 5 megapixel camera is excellent. A friend of mine who is a professional photographer told me that a 5 megapixel photo could easily be blown up to 8.5x11 with no loss in quality. Video recording at maximum resolution is very clear and impressive looking on the Super AMOLED display. If you limit the video recording for mms, the quality drops drastically, but that's necessary in order to allow you to send a video that's longer than a couple seconds.
The only con I can come up with right now is the battery life. But I'm not the best person to listen to about battery life because I am constantly using my phone, whether texting, sending and receiving multimedia messages, browsing the Android Market, noodling around on Facebook, etc. So I really can't fault the battery for not lasting very long. Good thing I have a charger in my truck.
In my opinion, the Samsung Captivate is the best phone available by any manufacturer or wireless provider. It has answered and rectified every complaint I have had about all of my previous phones.
If you're considering the iPhone 4, please visit an AT&T store, or find a friend who owns a Captivate and ask to try it out. You will change your mind and buy the Captivate.
Pros: Bright display, Lightweight, swype, video and photo quality, ease of use, swankyness
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
2
phone shuts off
on October 2, 2010
Posted by: cristenj81
Expertise:Intermediate
This phone shuts off at random times. We reset it to default and still have the problem. We checked multiple online forums, and we're not the only ones with this problem. We've had limited help from at&t. Hope this gets resolved.
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Realistic color, Lightweight
Cons: Did not meet expectations, shuts off
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
3
Performance
3
Design
3
Value
2
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US